Seedling
by Tiamath
Summary: Possible Ending Kagome comprehends an agonizing truth of the time paradox she is in and must act on it, tearing her world apart in the process…based on clues from the series but somewhat depressing…


**Disclaimer**: I do not own Inuyasha, just the words from my head that the little voices tell me to write… 

_Just a quick note before we begin…this is a possible ending, not an AU, to the Inuyasha series and is rather pessimistic in it's outlook. It is also possibly confusing to those who do not remember some of the first episodes in the series. If you are easily depressed, please don't read it. If you enjoy a good angst now and again, please continue…_

**Seedling**

The old and withered priestess stood on the forested hillside, the coveted jewel cradled in her hands. She stared pensively at the little ball of pink light. It was hard to believe, she mused, how many lost their lives as a result of this little crystal sitting innocently upon her palm.

It had taken her a lifetime to collect the entire jewel. The millions of fragments had been sown widely around the globe, and as the myriad of demons fought and died over the pieces, they spread even further. Without her friends by her side, she knew she never would have survived this long.

She sighed in frustration. She had the power to end this, end all of this suffering. She had the ability to purify the jewel and release the powers bound there to the heavens. And yet…she must not. Surrounded by her friends, in possession of the complete Shikon Jewel, she knew that she could easily defeat Naraku…and yet, she must not.

Instead, after nearly fourty years of searching, she must return to her own time and face Naraku there, alone. Five hundred years would go by, giving Naraku ample time to grow in strength. If, by some lucky chance, Shippou, Inuyasha, Kilala or Kouga survived the intervening years between the two eras, she would have backup. But the possibility was slim. After all, her friends, left behind in this era, would be forced to try and keep Naraku contained. Even if one of the demons survived, there was no possible chance that the human component of the shard hunters, Sango and Miroku, would make it through.

Oh, that well was clever. It had drawn her down, an eager child of fifteen, and introduced her to a bright new world, a world that had honed her innate skills and turned her into a weapon of deadly precision. Now she was being drawn back to her own time to take on her final task.

She snorted. It was ridiculous, really. She didn't even know if Naraku actually existed in her century—it was entirely possible that something would come along and wipe him out before she was even born. She had only the time paradox to guide her. To chain her.

Quickly, before she could change her mind, she took one of her arrows from the quiver. Out of habit, she sighted down the shaft, nodding slightly at the straight, smooth wood, the perfectly-fletched feathers. Then she grasped the arrow in a tight fist and raised it high.

_Clink_. She flinched as the gentle sound echoed through the empty forest. A beautiful sound, really, almost anti-climatic. But then, the true climax was yet to come.

She scooped the tiny shard into her hand and glared at it. Yes, there it was, just as she remembered it from that long-ago time. Although Inuyasha might laugh at the concept, she had become quite convinced over the years that each one of the shards carried it's own personality. Almost as if possessed by a separate entity entirely. Some bore the unmistakable trace of a powerful priestess; others were much more difficult to purify and were positively savage with demon _youkaii_. This particular one was especially virulent, pulsing with dark emotions even under her purifying touch. Trying not to think about what she was doing, she reached down and with quick, jagged movements drove the shard hard into the thin trunk of the sapling. Almost immediately, the tree sprang to an unnatural life, its branches rustling in a non-existent wind. Kagome recoiled from the searching branches, fighting a strong urge to purify the sapling into a cinder.

At long last, the circle had been completed.

A familiar demonic aura appeared behind her and she leaned back into his comforting presence, suddenly too exhausted to stand. His arms were still so young…her heart ached with a desperate bitterness. His low voice reached her ears, made almost indistinguishable from a growl by the thickness in his throat.

"Is it done?"

She drew a long, shuddering breath before answering, her own throat closing on the word. "Yes."

She could feel him gently trying to drag her away from the site, away from her shame. Five hundred more years of Naraku, and who knows how many hundred years more of terror from the flesh-eating Noh Mask—she had never found an exact carving date for the wretched thing.

Already her vision was beginning to mist; the time paradox that had enabled her to travel five hundred years into the past was slowly collapsing. She felt the strong young arms around her being to shake as Inuyasha realized that her shoulders were becoming less substantial, and he buried his face in her graying hair. "Not yet. Oh please, not yet…" Kagome returned the painfully tight hug with one of her own, then pulled away. She placed an already-translucent hand against his cheek.

"See you in five hundred years," she whispered.

Then, in the final few moments before the world she had come to know and love over the last fourty years faded entirely, she turned and spat venomously at the small, corrupted seedling before her.

_

* * *

See? This is why I try and avoid prose. It always turns out to be so depressing…for those of you who do not recognize the reference, it's from the episode 'The Terror of the Ancient Noh Mask,' or something to that effect (one never can tell exactly with the English translations). The Noh Mask was carved from a tree with a Jewel Shard in it and was kept in Kagome's Grandfather's store room under heavy spiritual protection. Eventually, the Jewel shard in it was called to by the Jewel shards Kagome carries around, and, well, you get the picture. But I got to thinking after watching that episode. How could there be a Jewel shard in the future if the Inu crew were successful in the past? Thus this story was born.  
As to the part about Naraku being in the future, well, that's just me being pessimistic. I'm in a really weird mood right now…_

_Thank-you for taking the time to read this; I hope you enjoyed it! As always, I greatly appreciate any feedback you would care to throw my way. It doesn't have to be good news, either. If the story sucks, then I would rather know about it instead of blissfully believing that I am a decent author…_


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